Clown Princess Buggy
by TheEverfreeBaron
Summary: AU! Fem-Buggy! This is Whitebeard's only daughter, the infamous female pirate, Buggy the Clown Princess; she faces all the trials her "brothers" do (and more!) and at the end of the day, when all is said and done, she'll rule the world and be richer than anyone before her! (Who said there couldn't be a Pirate Queen?) But before that, two things await her: danger and adventure!
1. Prologue: Meet the Clown Princess

**So this is just a very short prologue, and honestly, I don't know if this will catch, but I personally love the idea of a female Buggy, and since I didn't see it on before, I figured I throw my hat in the lot and try and make it happen. Now, if this doesn't catch fire, I probably won't go on for too long, seeing as I'm pretty busy as is, but I do have high hopes for this story, and either way, I enjoyed writing this little bit.**

 **Normal chapters will be longer, I just wanted to get something out there and get a feel for it before I got serious about it; reviews are greatly appreciated! Seriously! If you want this to go on, tell me! It WILL help.**

 **I don't own One Piece or anything nearly as cool, because I'm currently a no-name shmuck who writes Rule 63 anime fan fiction...but you know, dream big, right? Right...Enjoy!**

* * *

"Surrender! You've no hope of escape!" One of the raiders shouted.

The enemy crew refused to drop their weapons, but with most of their nakama dead or captured, the few holdouts had little choice and seemed to silently consider the more than generous offer with themselves.

"Last chance!" The attacking crew shouted as they pointed their rifles and raised their swords.

"We'd sooner die!" One of the defenders retaliated.

"I surrender!" Immediately shouted another, who ran away from his comrades and dropped at the feet of Whitebeard's men, kneeling and begging for his life.

The rest seemed conflicted, some hoping to escape easy, but a few eager to fight to the death, if need be. The situation continued to escalate as no one was quite sure how to proceed, and the battle went into a temporary standstill.

"Please...don't kill us…" the surrendering man pleaded.

The Whitebeard pirates looked at one another, unsure of how to take things from there, but a cackling and proud laughter soon broke all tension.

"Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

A torso shot into the air, one belonging to a slender woman who bore extravagant make-up and an even more extravagant smile. She put her gloved hands behind her head, as if relaxing and relishing in the battle, as she spoke.

"You heard my men! Surrender! It'd be a shame to get blood everywhere, but...as the saying goes, can't make omelets without breaking eggs."

Even the defiant enemy pirates now gnashed their teeth together and fell to their knees, realizing just who they were facing. Those still brave enough to talk all muttered her name in shock at the same time.

"C-C-Clown Princess Buggy!"

The famed Whitebeard Commander, the only daughter of the Strongest Man in the World, laughed again. Believed to have sparred many times with Boa Hancock, as well as defeated an entire regiment of Marines with only her crew to back her up, not to mention having once dated the current Yonko, Red Haired Shanks, "Clown Princess" Buggy was a name feared, even in the New World.

"So? Are we going to give up like good losers?" She asked with a wink, her attempt at playing their emotions.

Their wills weakened, the enemy pirates looked at each other with tired, sad faces, and conceded defeat silently, letting their weapons go and raising their arms.

Buggy lowered herself down to her legs on The Big Top, and crossed over the gangplank to the damaged vessel her men had conquered. The newly defeated hostages were rounded up, and Buggy herself went down below decks to inspect whatever treasures they may have found and collected along their travels. She wasn't disappointed.

She came back to the deck several minutes later, fingers adorned with rings, necklaces of gold and silver hung around her soft neck, and gold coins bulging out of her pants pockets and her hands. Her smile was wide and her laughs were loud. Buggy was in a good mood, and that meant the entire crew was.

"Jackpot! Load it all into our cache!" She shouted, striding back to her personal throne near the wheel of the Big Top. Her subordinates obeyed readily.

"What about us!" The de facto leader of the enemy asked eagerly.

She paused and looked back for a moment, "Oh...meh, have fun with 'em boys!" She then returned on her merry path and plopped down on her throne with glee, reclining back and laying across the right armrest and kicking her leg up and down. Soon enough she was in her own world, immune to the bellowing of the enemy and the chit chat of her own men.

"Who's the best in the world!?" She demanded to the countless audiences in her head.

"Buggy! Buggy! Buggy!"

"Who do we love!?"

"Buggy! Buggy Buggy!"

"GYA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Gold coins fell like raindrops as she was showered with affection and praise. It was perfection, and it was all for her. No one else. Nothing could ruin this moment, even if it was in her head. Nothing in the whole world could soil this-

"Buggy!"

Her head shot up 15 feet in the air and her body flipped back off the throne and trembled on the ground. Below, her brother was laughing at her misfortune.

"Ace! What the hell? I told you to stop doing that!"

Her fellow Commander and "brother" under Whitebeard, "Fire Fist" Ace was still laughing as he helped her body up and her head reattached. She shot him a nasty look. He laughed harder.

"Looks like I arrived too late to help you out, huh?" Ace said, putting his arm around her and trying to calm her down. Her mood was far less merry now.

"What do you want here?" She asked bitterly.

"I just told you I came to help," Ace replied, chuckling again, "I caught you at a bad moment, huh?"

Flustered and embarrassed, Buggy shook herself free of Ace's embrace and turned her back to him, unable to conjure words appropriate for the moment. He just kept on teasing her.

It seemed to be the perfect metaphor for her life, a roller coaster that changed direction like a cat without whiskers, a life that was filled with excitement, adventure, family, and treasure. What else was worthy of being the life of Whitebeard's daughter?


	2. 1: Adventure Awaits

**This story has proven more interesting than I imagined, and has been well received. Thus, I bring you the second part, which although also short, will be the stepping stone into the plot, and then we can really get rolling. However, I am extremely busy, so I can't promise any updates at certain times. I will, however, strive to do my best and keep this story rolling. Now that this has been written out, I have a much better idea of the story that will come to be, and I have many different pieces already put together.**

 **I still don't own One Piece, but I am still a no-name schmuck who writes Rule 63 fan fiction, you are all very welcome. ;) So leave a review and let me know if you find the way I'm leading things interesting. I look forward to getting to new chapters. Enjoy!**

* * *

When she had calmed down, Buggy invited Ace to her quarters and opened a bottle of wine. She poured the glasses herself, so as to shortchange her brother under Whitebeard, but he refused the drink altogether.

"Break out the sake," Ace insisted.

"Sake is the drink of commoners, I don't carry any in my cabin, fine wine only," Buggy replied, taking a sip from her glass.

They stared at each other for a moment, but Buggy wouldn't budge. Ace sighed and shrugged.

"There's more to life than being rich and powerful, you know. Anyways," Ace said taking the glass reluctantly and shaking it a bit to inspect the golden liquid, "it's good to see you again."

"How is everyone else back at the Moby Dick? Rather...how's the Old Man doing?"

"He won't quit anytime soon, we all know it."

"Good to hear."

"Actually...there has been some pretty bad news since you departed from the main fleet."

"What's happened?"

Ace paused and took a quick swig from the glass, swallowing it without tasting it much. He contemplated the after taste and stared down at the glass with suspicion. Buggy looked a little miffed from her seat.

"You know you're supposed to-"

She was interrupted by another swig with even less time devoted to enjoying the taste, and cringed. Ace didn't seem to notice her, but he grabbed the bottle without any regard for Buggy, and refilled his glass, downing it carelessly and pouring again.

"You know this 'fine wine' doesn't do much to fill you up. How can you drink it?"

"Maybe you should drink it right!" Buggy sneered and detached her hand to snag the glass away from Ace who looked confused, "Look, like this, see?" She added and slowly drank from the glass, taking the proper time to savor the taste and enjoy the unique vintage. It all seemed to go in one ear and out the other for her comrade.

"What kind of sissy pirate drinks like that?" He asked with a chuckle.

"..." Buggy could not fathom an appropriate response to the insult, but confiscated the glass and bottle from Ace completely. Then the raven haired Commander got serious again.

"Anyways...like I said before, things aren't so grand back with the fleet," he told her with a frown, staring down into the floor.

"What's going on?" she asked with concern.

"For the first time…" Ace clenched his fists and tensed up, "Someone broke the Iron Rule."

Buggy's jaws went supernaturally wide and her teeth literally fell out, but she quickly regained them, "Why don't any of you tell me these things!? Is it so hard to maybe send a message that _one of my brothers was killed!?_ "

"The Old Man took it strangely...he hasn't been more distant than usual, but...something's bothering him."

Buggy was speechless, and stared right through Ace, as though he didn't exist. To think that this could happen on Whitebeard's crew...it was unimaginable. Whitebeard was someone nobody would cross, and yet one of his sons had done so without care.

"Thatch."

"What?" She asked, looking back into his eyes.

"Thatch was killed, and his soul was taken along with some berri and the devil fruit he captured...by Teach."

"Teach!?" Buggy parroted with wide eyes, "I never liked him….he always gave off an eerie vibe to me."

"Some of us have been talking about it...and we have a plan."

"Oh this is gonna end well, I can tell…"

"If you don't want in, I understand, but you actually might be very useful to us if we decide to go."

"Wait a sec, who's we?"

"A few of the commanders, myself, Izo, and Curiel. We can't accept that Teach will be getting away like that. So we thought we'd go and deal with him."

"And the Old Man is okay with that!?" Buggy asked shooting off her hands and grabbing Ace by the shoulders.

"Of course not!" Ace replied, grasping her hands and stopping her from shaking him, "but he doesn't have to have our approval. Regardless of who's going with me, I'm going to find Teach, and I will avenge Thatch."

Ace's eyes looked as though they were on fire, and knowing him, that just might have been the case, Buggy was still in quite a bit of shock. She reattached her hands and leaned back, helpless to comprehend what was going on around her. Ace stayed quiet for a moment, brooding, or possibly even praying...

But he opened his eyes then, and smiled confidently, "Hey, don't fall to pieces now, Buggy!"

"You're serious. Aren't you? You're really gonna go after Teach?"

"Yes….are you going with me?"

"I...I don't know….this is all so sudden...I can't just leave my men…"

"Maybe you can think about it on the way back to the Fleet."

"What? Hey, don't just give my men orders and hijack my ship! ACE!"

"Prepare to sail!" Ace shouted as he left the cabin and made his way over to the deck.

The pirates, easily recognizing their captain's peer, obeyed his orders, despite Buggy's objections to her brother under Whitebeard. Ace smiled at Buggy's helplessness, and put his arm around her. She watched the ship's anchor raise and the sails lower, and as directions were given, she gave up and reclined into Ace.

…

The Moby Dick came into sight, surrounded by its accompanying vessels. Whitebeard's jolly roger flew high in the sky above, marking his territory and his home. Buggy breathed in the familiar scent of that home with a smile. It had been months since she'd seen the Old Man.

The Big Top sailed in next to the other ships and joined with its allies. Buggy crossed over onto the Moby Dick with Ace, meeting the smiles and happy faces of the rest of the crew. Marco greeted them first.

"Welcome back, Ace; it's been awhile, huh, Buggy?"

"Anything change while I was away?" Ace asked in a sort of whisper, to which Marco replied in a similar fashion.

"Nothing's changed...it's like he's been a different person since it happened."

"How long ago was it?" Buggy asked.

"Almost a month," Marco replied.

"We should've done something. I should've taken it upon myself to do something," Ace scolded.

Marco put his hand on Ace's shoulder, "We _were_ doing something. We were obeying the Old Man's orders and following him. He's the Captain of captains here."

"Seriously!" Buggy seethed at them, "Almost a month and no word! It isn't so hard to send me a message, is it!?"

"You'd know if you stayed with the main fleet most of the time," Marco pointed out, "Besides, we'd all love to have you here more. You're a strange one, Clown Princess."

"I...enjoy my space…" Buggy defended, "but I care about my brothers like you care about me."

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed out across the ship, "Ace. Buggy. Come pay your respects to your Old Man!"

Ace smiled and walked over to the great pirate that called him son, but Buggy was more nervous creeping over to the man that called her daughter. Whitebeard was all smiles, however.

"Look what I found drifting out in the ocean?" Ace asked rhetorically.

"How's it going, Old Man?"

"Don't be so offset, Buggy," Whitebeard responded to her.

"S-Sorry, Old Man!" She said with a warm smile, which made Whitebeard chuckle.

"It's good to have you both back here. Will you be sticking around this time, Buggy?" He inquired as he reached behind his massive seat to grab a large bottle of sake.

"U-Um...well…"

"She's here to stay for a little while," Ace interrupted.

"Good," Whitebeard replied and took a large drink of the alcohol, "Be sure to go and restock while you're here...although, knowing you, daughter, you've probably been keeping yourself busy and tracking down what you need, huh?"

"Well," Buggy chuckled, "You know me so well, Old Man."

"Come on, let's get you a _real_ drink, not any of that 'fine wine' of yours," Ace said as he pulled Buggy away towards the galley with Marco. Whitebeard smiled at them one last time and drank away, muttering to himself as they left earshot.

"Those kids are trouble...probably why I like them all so much."

"Geez," Marco jokingly chided, "could you make it any more obvious that we're up to no good?"

"By the way," Ace interrupted, "did you reconsider? Are you coming with us?"

"No."

"That's too bad."

"My place is at the Old Man's side. I did my part already. The rest is with you, Ace."

"What are you talking about?" Buggy asked, looking back and forth at her brothers.

"Did he drag you in?" Marco asked Buggy as they went below deck.

"W-Well...I…"

"Come on," Ace encouraged, "we could really use your help, Buggy. Think of how much more

glorious you'd be if you came with us. What would Thatch want?"

"Uh…" Buggy sat down on the counter and was handed a sake bottle by Marco as Ace continued his pitch.

"It's the chance of a lifetime, don't you think? Imagine the wonders waiting at the end of the journey. It's an adventure befitting any future Pirate King...or Queen."

Buggy sighed and nodded in agreement, "Oh what the hell? Where are we going?"

Ace laughed drank happily, prompting Buggy to do the same. She immediately spit it out.

"Yuck! How can you drink this!?"

Marco and Ace shared a laugh, "It's healing water. What else can be said?"

"Glad to have you with us," Ace said and turned his attention to Marco, "want to lay it out for her?"

"Sure. You, Ace, Izo, and Curiel are going on one hell of an adventure, but you'll have to be careful. When Teach escaped, he left behind one clue."

"What was it?" Buggy wondered nervously.

"He dropped his snail phone."

"Oh, is that all?" Buggy replied with relief.

"The last person he contacted was a Warlord: Donquixote Doflamingo."

"WHAT!?" Buggy cried out, now literally having fallen to pieces.

...

On a tropical island hidden in the vast blanket of the oceans, the flamboyant Warlord himself was lounging in the sun. A timid woman approached from behind him with a letter in hand. He noticed her interruption and clicked the snail phone off, drawing her to him with his finger. She stuttered as she spoke up.

"Y-You have two messages, s-sir."

He snatched them from her without a verbal reply and looked them both over. The first was a summons from the Navy. He threw it to the sand beside him. The second letter bore the insignia of the Whitebeard Pirates, but it was burned and faded, and a large 'X' overlapped it. Raising his eyebrow with intrigue, Doflamingo opened it up and read the contents silently to himself. He chuckled as he finished and turned his face to the sky as he began laughing maniacally at the turn of events that had come his way.


	3. 2: A Look Back, a Step Forward

**Here I bring another chapter, and another piece of the story. I personally enjoy the short flashbacks and recallings to the Old Era and the age of Roger, Garp, and the other legends. Honestly, I think an arc focusing on that era could be better than Marineford...if handled right. And since Buggy was a part of it, I wanted to shed a little light on her past, and I promise there will be more on that later. But now is the time to move forward, and so this story does so.**

 **Still don't own One Piece. If I ever do, you'll know because I'll retcon Dressrosa so that Doflamingo wins. That was major PIS, imo. Anyways, enjoy the latest antics of the Clown Princess! Reviews are still loved and coveted like swedish meatballs.**

* * *

The full moon high above them laid down the luminous path across the ocean, stretching beyond the dark horizon and into the waters of adventure. The four commanders got into the small vessel tied to the Moby Dick and bade Marco farewell.

"Watch over the Old Man in our place," Izo said as he gazed over the ship one last time. This adventure held no promise of coming back.

"He'll be upset that you all left like this...he might've responded better if you told him face to face," Marco noted from the deck above as he blew out the lantern.

"We will avenge our brother, we will avenge his son," Ace said with confidence.

"Then take good care of yourselves," Marco warned, "Teach is deceptively strong, and after taking that Devil Fruit…..not to mention he's been in contact with Doflamingo, and probably a bunch of other strong pirates. It's almost a conspiracy or something."

"We'll unravel the mystery. Teach crossed the man who should never be crossed, and we are the weapons which will instill Whitebeard's judgement," Curiel replied, hand on the pistol sitting in his belt.

The smaller boat, more than a raft but hardly something that could sail through the New World for more than a few days, was pushed away from the great ship and began to drift along the moonlit trail that seemed to span across all the oceans of the world.

"Here we go…" Buggy whispered, more to herself than the men as the wind propelled them along.

…

By the time the sun was well into the sky, Buggy had awoken and realized that Izo was already up. Curiel, and far more so Ace, was lost in a deep sleep. The first thing she did was throw the jacket once worn by a high ranking marine off her back, partially revealing the large tattoo of Whitebeard's jolly roger on her back.

"Here," Izo greeted, throwing her a canteen when he realized she was up.

"Thanks."

The water rushed down her throat quickly, but it was a moment of joy. She never liked the overbearing sun, and the fact that it was already hot, and she didn't sleep particularly well, did not ease her.

"As far as I can tell," Izo said interrupting her thoughts, "we're about another day's travel to port; hopefully we'll catch another lead there."

"What gives us a chance of following Teach's trail at this port?"

"Rumors were that he stopped here about a week after disappearing, but we don't know what for. At the very least, we've figured out that one of Doflamingo's subordinates frequents this island."

Buggy's head threatened to detach at the mention of the sunglass touting Warlord. Truthfully, he'd always creeped her the hell out, and going after him was a grim prospect indeed. She tightened the cap on the canteen and tried to approach the subject nonchalantly.

"So, do we know why Doflamingo was meeting with Teach, exactly…?"

"No."

"So, we could potentially avoid Doflamingo altogether?"

"No…" Ace said from the floor of the vessel, waking up and scaring Buggy, "I don't think that'll happen. Besides," he continued as he sat up, "I almost want to fight him. As far as I'm concerned, he's as guilty as Teach."

"Well...maybe...I mean…" Buggy attempted to discourage the idea, but gave up.

Izo offered Ace the water next, and Buggy sighed as she entered her morning rituals. She took the comb from her bag and began to straighten her hair muttering grumpily to herself. Curiel was still well asleep, and Ace was rummaging for food. Typical.

"Whatever awaits us, I think we need a plan or two in place. For caution's sake if nothing else...hey! Are you guys listening!?" Izo scolded angrily.

"Yeah," Ace said calmly, or rather cluelessly, as he stuck a bread roll in his mouth.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," Buggy replied as she pulled out her mirror and a small box.

"Really? You're doing your makeup now?"

"Hey," Buggy defended herself, "you think I look this good with natural beauty? Being a clown pirate is more work than you think, pal! And besides, you wear makeup yourself!"

"I don't put it on at times like this, when we're about to embark on a mission."

"What the hell happened 'another day's travel'?"

"We still have to be well prepared," Izo told her, "you're too concerned with how you look."

Buggy's jaw literally dropped, for a moment, then snapped back into place as she pointed at him accusingly, "You own a nicer dress than I _ever_ have!"

"All right," Ace said after swallowing again and breaking them up, "have some food and get yourselves ready. I want answers when we reach land, and I don't care how we get them."

Izo said nothing and took a chicken leg from Ace, walking back to his seat and eating as he pulled out his own makeup bag.

Buggy refused the meat, but her eyes fell out of her head as she spotted Izo's possessions, "He's got better makeup than me too!"

…

By the late afternoon, things had calmed down and a few separate plans had been made in case trouble stirred up. Aside from Doflamingo's man frequenting the island, there was a noteworthy Navy presence as well, and none of them could be sure if Teach had left behind any surprises.

But that was all to come, and currently, they were enjoying stories, of their pasts. Tales of days with Whitebeard, or even before him. Curiel described his past as a slave owning family member, Izo opened up about his mother's obsessions, and even Ace talked about a curious younger brother and his legendary Marine grandfather. Now all eyes were on Buggy.

"Hey, you sailed the seas with Whitebeard from an early age, right?" Curiel asked, to which Buggy laughed her proud trademark and sat up to deliver the story she knew would captivate them.

"Indeed I did!" She announced with a stage-like presence, "I stowed away on the Moby Dick at the young age of 14, and worked as a cabin girl for many years before I rose through the ranks to become a Commander!"

"And you fought Roger...right?" Curiel wondered.

"Well, of course the Whitebeard pirates and Roger's men clashed many times, but I myself never fought the Pirate King…"

"Of course not, or this team would be a man short," Izo deadpanned, much to Buggy's annoyance, but she continued on after that.

"Well, I sparred several times with their cabin boy, the current Yonko Shanks."

Ace, who seemed to have been somewhat irked a moment before, cheered up and encouraged her to go on with the others. Buggy's smile got wider as they were increasingly entranced by her youthful tale.

"Of course, we were both pretty pathetic back then anyways, and we never really beat each other...we usually just sparred to a draw until either my nakama or his would win the battle."

"But who won more?" Ace asked, almost teasing her to admit that even then Shanks was the better fighter, and his question clearly offset her, although she knew it was all in good fun.

"A-Anyways, I took my first...trip of independence, not very long after Roger's ship returned to the Old World. By chance, I met Shanks and, being rivals and in some manner, friends, we went to Loguetown to see the Pirate King off...it was...a pleasant trip."

"Bet he enjoyed it even more," Curiel winked and nudged Ace and Izo, again, flustering Buggy, who quickly shot her upper body into the air to look down on her brothers.

"It wasn't like that at all! Knock it off, ya perverts!"

They laughed harder and passed the sake bottle around once again. Buggy came back down and sipped her wine with a grudge. Sometimes, there was no reasoning with any of them Surprisingly, Izo asked her elaborate a bit more, and so, whether or not it was wise, Buggy explained a bit more about her past.

"Shanks is great...I mean, we don't see each other anymore, but he'll always be a friend of mine...and…...yes...we dated _for a short time!_ "

"Did he say anything about Roger, that day you two went to his execution?" Ace asked, a little more sullen.

"Well, he knew Roger well. His straw hat supposedly came from Roger, as a gift. He was pretty hurt to see him go. He wasn't just the Pirate King, he was Shanks' Captain, and that night was a tough one, and one to remember. I've never been so drunk….but Shanks has grown up quite a bit since then, and Roger made him the man he is today. I think I can say that without doubt."

Ace considered the words for a moment and looked out into the sunset.

"You never met Roger, did you?" Buggy asked.

"No. I met Shanks once, and he saved my brother from some trouble a good 10 years back. I guess I have to give Roger a little credit for that…" He muttered.

"Well," Buggy said, changing the subject, "I think I win the award for "best past", huh?"

Izo rolled his eyes and Curiel chuckled; Ace still seemed lost in his fathomless thoughts. Buggy giggled at herself and sipped her wine again. The conversation died down not long after, and it wasn't long until Buggy found herself fighting off the urge to fall asleep. She had no problems staying awake after a cannon hit the sea beside their vessel, nearly rocking it over.

"Fire again!" The attackers shouted as their ship came into view past the dark fog, revealing them to be pirates, but not ones that any of the commanders recognized.

The cannons boomed and several cannonballs rushed at their small ship. Curiel was the first to spring into action, firing his pistols and blowing up several cannonballs in mid air. The rest were taken out effortlessly by Ace's fire.

"Who are these guys?" One of the attacker called out nervously.

He was shot through the forehead by Izo and fell into the water dead. With some assistance with Curiel, Buggy was launched onto their deck, and quickly split apart her limbs, throwing knives and stabbing the fodder pirates with the daggers in her hands and coming from the bottom of her shoes.

Most of the pirates were unable to avoid her unique attack style and had trouble evading her attacks, but those that did were dispatched by Ace, or at range by Izo or Curiel. Before long, most of the attacking pirates were dead.

"Crap! Fire-Fist Ace, Clown Princess Buggy...these are Whitebeard Commanders!"

"What are they doing here?" The pirate's ally wondered nervously.

"You bastards couldn't have picked a worse target!" Buggy shouted as she continued to cut through their ranks with her chop-chop death dance.

"We're sorry!" One of the most fearful attackers cried, dropping his arms and falling on his face.

Buggy paused, as did Ace and the others when the pirates that remained humbled themselves. In a way, they were asking for death by attacking the small group, and yet, they were so disadvantaged and prone to grovelling, Buggy felt partially inclined to spare them...and reap any rewards from the encounter, of course.

She turned to Ace, and Izo and Curiel soon joined them on the enemy ship. It was no grand vessel, but it was well suited for sailing, or rather, far more well suited for sailing than their current vessel. It was several times bigger, had more room for rations and tools, and best of all, more firepower. They'd need it sooner or later.

Ace, regarded as the de facto leader among the Commanders, made his decision, "You guys...get into that vessel behind us, but hand over our stuff. We're taking this ship...and all the supplies you've got in it."

"Of course! As Captain, I surrender completely to your will, you've clearly outmatched us!" one of the men reiterated.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Izo asked as they got up.

"Yeah," Buggy added, "get the hell off our ship before I blast you bastards back to West Blue!"

They hurried themselves off their former ship quickly, and transferred the supplies with earnest speed, then departed without a word. Curiel walked over to the railing and shouted at them as their retreating figures disappeared into the setting mist.

"If we spot you again, we won't hold back!"

"Hurry up!" One of the enemy pirates chastised his friends, and at last, they vanished completely from sight and earshot.

"When are we due to arrive in port?" Ace asked Izo as the man in makeup checked his compass quicky.

"About an hour."

"Alright," Ace told the other three, "I want us out into town as soon as we arrive. Don't draw attention to yourselves, but Teach's trail is growing colder by the hour, and we won't stop our pursuit until we've found him."

"Understood," Curiel acknowledged as Buggy and Izo nodded their silent understanding.

They were really going through with it.

…

The town's nightlife was usually edgy in most places. It wasn't really a kid-friendly place, nor was it a place of business or living for many honest men. Tonight, however, the scene was more alive than usual. Strangers had come, asking questions, seeking answers. Those in the town with the most power and influence quickly caught wind of their quest.

The one drawing the most attention to their mission, however, was a name the town had heard before: Buggy, the Clown Princess.

"Gya ha ha ha ha! Read 'em and weep, losers!" Buggy announced victoriously as she laid down the winning poker hand. The men at the table threw down their cards or groaned in admission of defeat.

Her laughter filled the bar and spilled out into the streets. Izo wandered in out of sheer fright that she had gone and done something foolish. His fears were realized.

"Buggy! What happened to not drawing attention to ourselves?" Izo demanded in a whisper as he bent down behind her chair.

"Don't get your dress in a knot, Izo, I'm working the bar crowd. Calm down, and join us!"

"Buggy!" Izo whispered back hotly.

From the distance, a man in a suit and tie watched the poker game, like everybody else in the the bar. He quickly turned away however, and exited quietly. When he made it to the back alley, he pulled out a snail phone.

"Hello?" the feminine voice on the other side answered.

"I need to talk to him," The man in the suit replied gravely.

"Just a moment."

He gazed in through the window again and saw Buggy, once again having beaten the others at the table and taking in the grand prize. There was no mistaking what her presence here meant.


End file.
